Dr. Oz Vindicated: New Study Finds High Arsenic Levels in Apple Juice

It all seemed a like shameless ratings stunt, but the campaign by
telegenic daytime TV host Dr. Oz about arsenic levels in apple juice
has been echoed by a new Consumer Reports investigation that contradicts
the Food and Drug Administration.

This September, we were as skeptical as anyone
when Dr. Mehmet Oz alarmed his viewers that "some of the best known
brands in America have arsenic in their apple juice ... a poisonous
metal known to cause cancer and potential IQ problems." It was a
dubious-sounding claim because a) his show's yelping audience members
and ominous music can be distracting and b) the FDA had a very plausible
refutation: The Dr. Oz Show's testing measured total arsenic
levels and didn't differentiate between organic arsenic and inorganic
arsenic, which is the bad cancer-causing kind found in pesticides. "We
have advised you that the test for total arsenic DOES NOT distinguish
inorganic arsenic from organic arsenic," said an agency letter to the
show.

But the new Consumer Reportsinvestigation
found that most of the arsenic that registered was inorganic and the
total arsenic levels were higher than what the FDA allows in water. "The
tests of 88 samples of apple juice and grape juice purchased in New
York, New Jersey, and Connecticut by Consumer Reports staffers found
that 10 percent of those samples had total arsenic levels exceeding
federal drinking-water standards of 10 parts per billion (ppb) and 25
percent had lead levels higher than the 5 ppb limit for bottled water
set by the Food and Drug Administration." The publisher of the report
called for the FDA to impose arsenic standards on juice in a similar way
it does for water. "Consumers Union is urging the FDA to set a more
protective standard of 3 ppb for total arsenic and 5 ppb for lead in
juice."